Fifteen intrepid walkers spent their Sunday scaling Mt Kosciuszko from the steepest slope (the only one). Starting with a temperature of 10 degrees set off the scene - Dario managed, or coerced, the ski lift operator to give us a discount rate for the 10 minutes ride up & down. I noticed the operator shaking as we boarded the chairlift seats but that may be incidental.
Despite Sandy's warning of very cold weather & need of many extra layers, we had to shed layers as we climbed. Despite the weather warming up dramatically, there was still some snow on the mountain, which made the scenery picturesque and the walk across challenging.
We reached the top of Australia, Mt Kosciuszko after a few hours and took quite a number of photos. Julie insisted she could do better and had to stand on top of the cairn and be the tallest person in Australia. Some people will do anything to be noticed.
The 14 kms walk was impressive, long and tiring, coping with altitude, but worth every moment especially when led so professionally by Sandy and Dario, locals of Thredbo for 25 years.
Gerard
